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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in collaboration with Rotary District 6440, is making available online a new manual on diagnostic imaging for clinics and small hospitals. The online publication of the manual is tied to a pilot diagnostic imaging project in Guatemala being carried out jointly by the Ministry of Health of Guatemala, PAHO and Rotary Districts 4250 from Guatemala and 6440 from Northern Illinois.

The new manual has sections on site selection and survey, radiation safety, site preparation, film processing, digital alternatives and ultrasound. The manual includes general X-ray systems with a focus on the digital World Health Imaging System for Radiology (WHIS-RAD) an international standard supported by PAHO and WHO.

This manual is being made available online to support a pilot project in Guatemala involving the installation of a digital WHIS-RAD that employs Computed Radiography (CR) for digital processing. The Guatemalan project envisions placing 29 additional digital systems in Guatemala similar to the pilot site and will provide a base of experience for similar installations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and around the world. The project is jointly supported by Guatemala’s Ministry of Health, PAHO, Rotary District 6440 and Rotary District 4250 from Guatemala.

The manual is authored by Dr. Phillip E.S Palmer and Dr. Gerald Hanson who worked for PAHO and WHO in the past in radiology and radiologic safety.